Copper's Band "The Dark Ones"

It takes some doing, but I am able to get a close up look of Copper's band. I did not meet this band until late last summer. They are easy to recognize with the twin black mares and the very handsome bay (with star and 4 white socks) band stallion, Copper.
The black mares we named Evita (star) and Ebony (no white) have had foals. This is quite a sight! They stay in the background while the rest of the harem investigates me.
Here is Copper flanked by his yearling sons. We put the name Flame on the one on the left. The black one is not name ID'd, but in the books. They are the black mares' babies from last year.
They watch as Copper comes to get a whiff of me. The bay mare in the back is very wary. I do not recognize her. The muley mare front left was with them last year. I don't know if she is a 2 yr old or an older mare. There is a lot to learn about this band.
The band Stallion. Copper.
Here is the muley mare with the shy black mare looking on in the background. These two need names. I have invited the HSUS to help us and start blending our data, but no response. We need to be able to communicate when round up time comes, which I predict will be 2012. Anyway we are chugging along with our public documentation and have a friend giving them numbers and putting them on a spread sheet.
The sage is enourmous back in here. It was extremely windy on this day. The air was filled with the smell of blooming sage. This harem of horses have staked out there part of the pasture for now.
Here are the yearling colts. They were very curious....they have a willingness to trust, it is amazing to witness.
Here is the new sorrel colt.
.....and here is the bay. These two brothers will have fun together growing up in this basin.
The bay guy. One of the black mares has a tiny star (Evita), and one (this one, Ebony) doesn't.
Already they are interacting. It is nice to see a band with two colts. That bay mare might be in foal too. She sure was protective with these two. Who is she?? She is a solid bay, no white that I could see.
Mustang brothers facing an uncertain future. Hopefully we can help them lead a life of peace.
It was soooo windy on this day. It was real hard to get photos. I hope I give you an idea how awesome these wild horses are....I had fun watching the colts play in the wind.
They lead very secret lives...It is our duty to treat them with the respect they deserve. They have been here for a very long time. I don't know how long, but they are from a time gone by. That I know for sure.The mystery bay mare.....I was looking through photos from my last encounter with these guys and she was not with them, but the young filly that is with now with Twister (Copper Girl) was. A friend named her without knowing this....I find that amazing.. I am pretty sure it is the same filly. I don't stay long....I get one last look at Copper and feel blessed to have seen this little scene in the mysterious world of SWB.

Twister's Band feat Windy's New Filly

I drive to where I think Twister's band might be. I am hoping to see Windy's new foal. A couple of days ago I saw them from a distance and saw Windy with a brown "dot" next to here. I was anxious to get a closer look. Well, sure enough they are in their corner of the range.
The band stallion, Twister. He lets me have a look, but never takes those mustang eyes off of me. I am reminded he is a wild animal.
Windy has had a filly! I am surprised she doesn't just run. Instead she seems to pose proudly with her new daughter.
Look how big she is! She is not more then a couple of weeks old. These wild horses are built range tough. They have incredible bone and are very nicely muscled from running to the water hole all the time.
Showing off the new filly.

That's Gus, the 2 yr old colt in the band. He is intigued with the newest member of the band. A young filly we call Copper Girl. "Whoa there...come back here little filly!"
I couldn't get her to lift her head at the right time, but wanted to show you what a beautiful color she is (liver chestnut). I believe her to be Copper's daughter. A friend said he saw Twister mounting her. I have just seen Gus playing with her. She is a nice addition to this band.
Here is the next mare ready to foal, Shady. She is shown with her shy, clingy grullo colt, Whisp. There are two yearlings in this harem, both colts, Whisp and Breeze. Whisp belongs to Shady (shown here) and Breeze (not shown) is Windy's sorrel colt.
There's Gus again. He is not only Twister's son, but also his satellite stallion. Twister was quite lame for most of last summer. I think Gus helped keep the family together.
That's Twister giving a great big yawn!
Father and son. I worry about this band because they live right on the boundary of the HMA. We must watch dog them...Make sure the gates are not left open. These are Colorado treasures. "Come on Twister play with me!" says Gus.
"How about you Copper Girl??"....responds with a kick.
Back to old reliable. These two have one of those special bonds. Look for Gus to have his own band one day. He is a colt with the attitude. The only touble is I think there will be a round up next year. I can not confirm...
This little filly will grow up with her brothers in the breezes of Sand Wash Basin. Where they live is forever windy.....Just look at that wind knot! Let freedom ring!

Corona's Band

I know it is going to be a good day when my first encounter is with Corona and band. Such a beautiful sight on this beautiful spring morning. The range has recieved some rains making the land and the horses sparkle. It is truly a magical day. All of these mustangs look good!
There's Can Wakan, the newest member of Corona's harem. She is a perfect little palomino. A real chunk and full of herself.
Can Wakan's full yearling brother, Bobby. He is the only colt in this band.
He is a real jewel of The Basin. This is Corona country.
Corona is in his prime and rarely do you see him with a scratch. Here he is snaking his family.
Can Wakan is showing signs of being darker then her brother. She has just started to molt her newborn fluff.
When I first saw these guys from a distance I thought Indian Rose, the grey, had had her foal, but not yet....that is her yearling daughter, Yampatika next to her. Yampatika has the look of a primitive horse....leg striping and a line back. She has really blossomed.
This sorrel mare is very prolific. She has a 2 yr old filly, a yearling colt and Can Wakan by her side. She is not part of the PZP study, but I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
I love this little fluff ball..Can I Wakan into your heart? (jw)
Cheyenne, the palomino pinto, is Corona's lead mare. It is obvious. She makes many of the decisions for this band. I can't tell for sure if she is pregnant or not...she gets pretty round anyway( like many of our mares) and I do not see a milk vein... This was a nice, peaceful encounter with one of our Icons.

Range News

I keep seeing Cortez streak by with his two mares and his grey yearling colt we call Aspen. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd say this stallion is a line-backed dun. Some call him a buckskin...Whatever he is, he is a beautiful sight in this high desert landscape. Coming out of winter he had lost his pinto mare and her 2 yr old colt, but gained Athena, the big bay who was with Solaris last summer/fall.
I am pretty sure this is Solaris, the sorrel. The bays are Mesa and Sedona and the white mare with the grey mane and tail is Frosty, that would be her roan yearling....Flare. This stallion had one of the larger bands last summer, but now the band has split up, but the other mares and youngsters are near by in the "unsettled" band. I don't know these horses well...they are spooky.
This stallion looks so familiar, but I can't quite place him...he was alone on this day. Looks like a 2 year old to me. I put him in the books....Is it Half Moon??
This is Casper. I found out through another friend of the mustangs. I get mixed up with the greys. Turns out he has 2 scars on his hip to help identify him. He was also alone...we observed him interacting with Twister who told him to "get lost"!
I was with 2 professional photographers on this day. I hope they produce some shots that do justice to this guy, Tag. He is really looking good this year. He is really typey Sand Wash pinto.
I like this black, gnarly mustang, Barcus. During this whole encounter I thought this was Bear, but came home to discover it was Barcus. This guy was stuck over on the other side of the west fence last year...He finally made it back in and has been a dominant stallion ever since. it was good to see him with some mares, although they did not look like they were settled with him...
Barcus is putting up quite a fight. Beau (the white) is relentless. Both have new wounds on them.
The price a stallion pays to be with the mares.
It was really good to see Jib's band. We had an adventure getting to them. They were real wiley with the 2 new foals. I wish I had got better photos from this encounter, but that is just the way it goes with wild horse viewing and photography...it's tough.
We saw these two young bachelor stallions clinging to the east fence, like a few horses this year. The grey one is Sir Duke and the sorrel is Clyde. Both of these colts got kicked out of their bands early last spring as yearlings. Destiny, the little medicine hat filly, was with Sir Duke all spring, but now the more mature stallion, Tag, has her. Clyde has a wonderful roman nose!
Flirt....her band is harmonious and expecting a new foal from Ginger..She was born to Bear, but now is with Brave's micro band.
Here is the satellite stallion from the band I called "Mystery Sorrel". Well, we have named the sorrel Volcano and this bay needs an ID name too.
Here is Volcano's band which consits of two stallions, a mare (nneds a name) and her yearling colt (Buck). Nothing is unusual out at SWB. There are all kind of herd dynamics going on.
Volcano.
Sad to report Snow Man got very beat up (again). I did not see him move, but some other friends reported him lame. I think he will heal. He has the heart of a mustang. He also has his best buddy by him...
Cowboy! These two always seem to end up together. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see this guy! I had not seen him since the winter when he was on the road. 7 mile ridge would not be the same without Cowboy and Snow Man.
That's Picasso and his little band. Monet is leading the way to the waterhole. I was happy to see photographers shooting them as they were getting a drink. These Colorado wild horses are too unique to "hide in the closet". Their beauty needs to be exposed so they have worth in our man made world. ...Look at the land. We might need to drop them some hay this winter. Too many animals graze this land (not just horses). Why not help them? We could bait them in and PZP some select mares to avoid helicopter round ups....We have the technology...just saying.